New Summer Research Assistantship Launched by CJLS and AFP

This summer marks the launch of a summer research assistantship developed by the Center for Justice, Law, and Societies (CJLS) and the Academic Fellows Program (AFP). This new initiative allows faculty members to mentor students from the AFP community on research projects, an important, high-impact practice that provides students with valuable skills for graduate school or employment.

Through a competitive process, faculty members were selected to serve as mentors, and students were paired with a mentor who will help them complete a research project over the summer. Students will receive mentoring sessions with their faculty mentor, as well as research skills training through the Institute for Social Science Research and a $5,000 stipend, courtesy of a donation for two SBS alumni.

Participants in the inaugural cohort are:

• Nicole Ojugbana and Laurel Smith-Doerr: Faculty Equity in Access to Centers and Institutes at UMass
• Xavier Aparicio and Cedric de Leon: A Constant Sorrow: The Black Freedom Struggle and Organized Labor in the United States
• Konah Brownell and Kelsey Whipple: Fight for Your Writes: Examining Journalistic Unions and Their Protection of Intellectual Labor